If you must do it, consider doing something that will be easy to put back to original, pickups are becoming rarer and it's worth much more original if you ever came to selling.

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Could agree more, but it has no floor or load bed due to rot. It's going to be a full cut out and replace of everything from the bottom of the doors down anyway. I had plans for an original rebuild but I'm just not excited by the A series options (done that already in other minis).

I'm looking for options that allow me to rear mount an engine (not a bike engine) that don't involve destroying the cab as this is the only part of the pick up in good shape.

Fair enough, if you kept the cab in good order then it should be fairly simple to do a build that wouldn't involve much more than just a load bed anyhow to put back to original.
With all that room back there, have you considered a turbo build?!

Fair enough, if you kept the cab in good order then it should be fairly simple to do a build that wouldn't involve much more than just a load bed anyhow to put back to original.
With all that room back there, have you considered a turbo build?!

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Ive considered loads of builds.... I even have an Allspeed subframe, drive shafts etc ready for a front mounted Vtec. All purchased second hand but 'as new'. The costs seems to add up all the time and I looked at space under the bonnet, changes to bulkhead, induction boxes, removable front end and getting a good Vtec (demand seems high and as such, prices seem to follow). The front end is what I would like to keep original and not chop up/extend. Then I see lots of 1.8 vvc MGfs at £500 due to rot, but with the head gasket etc done and I see a mid mounted 160bhp 16v VVC and wonder if that's the way to go? I have found a van with this done but its all fitted to a full roll cage - I was hoping to keep as much as possible low down - I don't want it to look like I just came from grass tracking and the ugly mini pickups they drive round in!

Ive considered loads of
builds.... I even have an Allspeed subframe, drive shafts etc ready for a front mounted Vtec. All purchased second hand but 'as new'. The costs seems to add up all the time and I looked at space under the bonnet, changes to bulkhead, induction boxes, removable front end and getting a good Vtec (demand seems high and as such, prices seem to follow). The front end is what I would like to keep original and not chop up/extend. Then I see lots of 1.8 vvc MGfs at £500 due to rot, but with the head gasket etc done and I see a mid mounted 160bhp 16v VVC and wonder if that's the way to go? I have found a van with this done but its all fitted to a full roll cage - I was hoping to keep as much as possible low down - I don't want it to look like I just came from grass tracking and the ugly mini pickups they drive round in!